Jam-able songs in major keys

JohnW63

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My current homework, from my instructor is to find some good jam and guitar solo songs in a major key. I've gotten too used to minor pentatonic scales and blues scales , which tend to be in minor keys. So, to break out of those patterns, he has me searching.

They could be Jazz, or Rock or something else a bass player and guitarists could toss around.

Got any suggestions ?

Made a start with...

Little Wing - Hendrix - G major ( Em )

Crocodile Rock - Elton John - G major

Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd - G major ( Just more as a joke, really. )

Stormy Monday - T Bone Walker - G major ( or others )

End of the Line - Traveling Wilburies - D major

Oh, Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison - A major ( and other keys in song )

SledgeHammer - Peter Gabrial - D#


Not really sure if the last one will work, but it would keep my bassist instructor from getting bored.
 

walrus

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"Girl From Ipanema" - F major. Very cool song - check out the Sinatra/Jobim duet version...

walrus
 

Stuball48

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"Pray For the Boys" Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs--G. I love Bluegrass and the Earls of Leicester may be best group of today and they do, ONLY, Flatt and Scruggs. May not be your cup of tea or what you are looking for but upright bass sure adds to their music IMHO.
 

crank

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Cumberland Blues, Grateful Dead. I play a mix of G and G major 7 for the jams.
 

Bill Ashton

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If you use the notable major players in the genre, almost any "traditional" fiddle tune is jam-able. That is kinda how Doc Watson expanded his playin', back in the 'holler...
 

dreadnut

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"Paradise" by John Prine - D, G, and A.

"You Are My Sunshine" - D, G. and A.

"This Land Is Your Land" - D, G, and A.
 

twocorgis

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"Blue Sky" by the Allman Brothers is a good one.
 

JohnW63

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Nice list guys, unfortunately, I'm not sure I am fast enough flat picker to go for blue grass or fiddle songs, but I'll see what my instructor thinks of that angle.

I did add Girl from Ipanema and with the mention of John Prine, I added Angel from Montgomery.

Good suggestions, so far.
 

Cypress Knee

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Check out Creedence and John Fogerty tunes - you can find Fogerty jamming with ZZ Top, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, and the Foo Fighters with any number of his songs that were mostly based on the E chord.

There is nothing wrong with Free Bird as a jam song except the chord structure changes and will confuse novice players. All those southern rock bands from the Allman Brothers to Marshal Tucker to Skynard and ZZ Top, along with the Grateful Dead, turned the extended jam into a major part of the show. The same with Willie Nelson. And don't forget Old Crow's Wagon Wheel.

CK
 

JohnW63

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Cypress,

The chords in Free Bird are not that big of a deal, but I figure that is a song that listeners want to hear THE solo, not some free form , jam session, version of the solo. Kinda' like Hotel California. They expect to here THAT solo.
 

adorshki

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Cypress,

The chords in Free Bird are not that big of a deal, but I figure that is a song that listeners want to hear THE solo, not some free form , jam session, version of the solo. Kinda' like Hotel California. They expect to here THAT solo.

SCREW what listeners want.
Let 'em go tune in their classic rock station, they're bound to hear both of those at least once in any given 48-hour period.

There is nothing wrong with Free Bird as a jam song except the chord structure changes and will confuse novice players. All those southern rock bands from the Allman Brothers to Marshal Tucker to Skynard and ZZ Top, along with the Grateful Dead, turned the extended jam into a major part of the show. The same with Willie Nelson. And don't forget Old Crow's Wagon Wheel.

The Allman Brothers were the first southern band to do it and they got it from the Dead.
So did Fleetwood Mac.
https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/grateful-dead-allman-brothers-peter-green/
Where do you think Berry Oakley got the idea to get an SF Bass?
OK in fairness, Duane did listen to Miles Davis' landmark Kind of Blue for hours, days, and weeks when he was learning his chops as a Muscle Shoals session man and that influence shows in " In Memory of 'Lizbeth Reed"
Miles pioneered the style of riffing in modes over 2-chord vamps.
OK, sorry for sounding imperious, I'm off my soapbox now.
:friendly_wink:
 
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JohnW63

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OK, sorry for sounding imperious, I'm off my soapbox now.

It was a nice soapbox, though. Make sure you take it with you. I don't trust this crowd to not run off with it, if you leave it laying around.


As much as my instructor would like to get into some more "deep jazz" stuff, like Miles Davis, I have trouble following those " I have no idea where he is going " solos, at this point. For now, it more traditional , toe tapping, solos for me.

Neat link, by the way.
 

walrus

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That's why I suggested "Girl From Ipanema". Like many jazz tunes, there are many versions out there with different "improvisational" solos. There really isn't "one version" everyone expects. An analogy would be "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" - so many cool versions, all a bit different. In fact, I learned "Pork Pie Hat" based on John McLaughlin's version, which is in Eb major, but other versions can be found in different keys.

Whatever song you pick, have fun!

walrus
 

adorshki

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It was a nice soapbox, though. Make sure you take it with you. I don't trust this crowd to not run off with it, if you leave it laying around.
As much as my instructor would like to get into some more "deep jazz" stuff, like Miles Davis, I have trouble following those " I have no idea where he is going " solos, at this point.
It requires the kind of time spent just practicing scales/modes that make professional musicians, well, "professionals".
And loving music so much that you want to send a bunch of time just practicing/exploring every day.
After a while it just kind of sinks in and starts making sense.
Even if your co-ordination isn't as co-operative as you'd like.
One think I used to do was pick a riff or bar and just keep repeating it mentally until it came back around, and notice how it still counted out evenly underneath the solos.

For now, it more traditional , toe tapping, solos for me.
And actually nothing wrong with that, plenty of folks (even most?) learn their chops by playing standards and copying their favorite solos. It's like learning how to read and write, ya gotta learn the alphabet and the rules of grammar before you can start writing your own stories.
Another thing I figured out is there's a huge difference between being able to regurgitate a bunch of different scales and solos, and actually knowing how not to play too much, how to imbue the notes you do play with real feeling.
At the risk of offending some folks, Joe Satriani's my favorite example of a guy who just plays too effing many notes, as if quantity was more important than quality.
99% his stuff just leaves me cold, don't want to tap my feet at all.
(And you're right, that's one of music's important missions).
Compare Jeff Beck's version of "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" or "Because We've Ended as Lovers" or his own "Definitely Maybe" to anything by Satriani for hardcore lessons on how to say more with less.
Santana's "Blues For Salvador" also comes to mind, or even "Black Magic Woman", actually prefer his version to the original.
One more:
The solo to "Wind Cries Mary"
Again, nary a wasted note.
Sheer elegance of the highest order.
As for Miles, I recommend "So What" and "Freddie the Freeloader" the first 2 tracks from the aforementioned Kind of Blue , for accessibility.
If those don't get your toes tappin', then I give up.
And try repeating the opening bass riff to "So What" for the entire tune, until you feel like jumping off the diving board, that'll getcha started.
:friendly_wink:

Or try this one that was such a toe-tapper that even Hendrix ripped it o..., er, borrowed it for "Jam Back at the House" at Woodstock (and elsewhere):

"Haitian Fight Song" originally released in 1957.
Don't let the name fool ya.
Written by Charles Mingus who coincidentally wrote "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" and many other tunes that became standards.
 
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walrus

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Nice post, Al! Agreed!

"It's not the notes you play, it's the notes you don't play." - Mile Davis

walrus
 
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